Thank You Note (1)

KNOCK

KNOCK

Arielle's bedroom door was knocked from the outside, and when Tania opened it, they saw Lucas and William standing by the doorway, carrying a large basket covered by a cloth.

"This is from His Majesty King Ronan himself," William said, a little breathless.

Arielle thus got off the bed and received the basket, which was quite heavy. When she opened the cloth cover, several rabbits appeared to make the girl happy.

"Oh... gosh! They are so adorable!" Arielle gushed. "Here, let me help you out."

She took them out of the basket one by one. The female rabbit immediately went to the male rabbit who was sleeping by the fire.

Meanwhile, the three little rabbits looked frightened. This made Arielle let out a sigh. The girl crouched down on her knees and took the three of them in her arms and they proceeded to calm down.

William wondered how the three frightened rabbits could look so peaceful in the arms of someone they didn't know?

Lucas was allowed to resign, but Arielle called him once again. "Lucas, do you have a pen and a piece of paper?"

"I don't have it at the moment, Princess. But if you are willing to wait, I'll take it from the library there."

"Is that so? Thank you, Lucas. Sorry to trouble you."

Lucas clutched his chest and then looked down. "With pleasure, Your Highness."

The man left William as he waited to be allowed to return.

"William?" called Arielle. She asked the man to come closer to her beside the fireplace.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Your Highness?" William asked her.

Arielle patted the carpeted floor in front of her, asking the man to sit with her. William hesitated. He was afraid that when he stepped closer, he would scare off the rabbits that were sleeping so peacefully.

They even pressed their bodies against the princess. Not to mention that little rabbits that were the hardest for him to catch, they now looked so peaceful in the princess's lap.

"Uhm... maybe I shouldn't come too near," William tried to refuse. "I am worried I will just scare them up."

"Oh, there's nothing for you to worry about. You won't scare them. Approach casually like you are one of them."

William really wanted to laugh at Princess Arielle's words just now. However, for the sake of politeness, the man just cleared his throat. William finally sat down in front of the princess by the fireplace.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Your Highness?" William asked again in a smaller voice, afraid that he'd wake the rabbits.

"You are going back to His Majesty the King's study, right?"

"Right, I still have a report to give."

"Um… can you wait for a while? I intend to write a thank you note to His Majesty the King. But since I've only been learning to recognize letters for two days, I'm not so confident with my abilities. So I want you to help correct my writing."

"You can write already?" asked William in surprise.

"Not yet. It's just that I can draw and paint, so I think I can imitate the familiar letter shapes. But I need your help to make sure what I wrote is correct."

William glanced at the old maid who sat down on the sofa. The woman nodded approvingly, which encouraged her as well.

"It is an honor to be of assistance to you, Your Highness."

"That's why I asked you to wait here with me, you must be very cold after chasing these rabbits, right? While helping me, warm up your body for a while."

William pressed his mouth with a hand, feeling moved. The man was genuinely touched by the attention Princess Arielle gave him. The man he had served for a dozen years had never once asked how he was or given such little attention.

Deep down, William wanted to cry. But as a knight, he still had to look dignified. So, he held back his emotion and put up a flat expression on his face. "Thank you very much for your concern, Your Highness."

Arielle waved her hand and asked William not to mind it. "Just sit here and warm up."

Finally, William complied. He sat down near Arielle by the fireplace. Not long after, Lucas came back with a stack of paper as well as pens and ink.

"Here you go, Princess," he said, handing over the pen and paper to Arielle. The princess received them with thanks.

Arielle wiggled her fingers before she started to hold the pen. Both William and Lucas waited patiently together as Arielle began to dip the pen into the ink.

Both had to admit, the princess's drawing ability was extraordinary because she could beautifully imitate the curves that make letters.

After every single letter, Arielle would look up to ask William and Lucas for their opinion. The two men just nodded and let Arielle continue to write.

Arielle only wrote one sentence, but for her that short time almost consumed all of her energy.

"Did I write it right?"

"It's so perfect, princess," Lucas praised.

William hummed which made Arielle ask. "Is there something wrong with my writing, William?"

William clutched his chin as he thought, "I think your writing is perfect, Your Highness. It is just…."

"It is just?"

"Perhaps you could add a small flower or heart shape after the sentence."

"What for? Does every letter have to end with a picture?" Arielle looked at William curiously.

Lucas also wanted to ask William the same thing, but the man raised his hand to keep Lucas quiet.

"Every letter must have a sender's mark. Starting from the sign of greatness, the symbol of the kingdom, the symbol of the house, and others. However, for you, I highly recommend drawing a heart sign... here." William pointed to the empty space after the dot.

"Oh... okay." Arielle believed the man's words because she knew William had been dealing with documents a lot, so what he said had to be true.

Arielle didn't question it anymore and drew a heart and a small flower in the place suggested by William.

Lucas and William exchanged glances, both had faint smiles on their faces.